Re-Focused: Browns @ Bengals, Week 12

[BernietheKid]

Re-Focused: Browns @ Bengals, Week 12

November 28th, 2011 | Author: Khaled Elsayed

They don’t always play the best football and they don’t always win, but there is something pretty entertaining about the Cleveland Browns’ ability to turn any contest into a close one. Their 23-20 defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals was the third time in as many weeks a game was decided by a margin of four points or less. This one being decided as Colt McCoy was unable to drive his team down the field after Mike Nugent’s field goal gave the Bengals the lead with 41 seconds remaining.

It’s another one of those games Cleveland will look back on and think what could have been, with some errant throws and incomprehensible drops hurting an offense that got off to a great start. For Cincinnati, this game wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of their playoff credentials, but they eked out a win without ever really excelling. There’s something to be said for that as they made big plays when they needed to.
Let’s look at some of the best and worst performers from this AFC North matchup.


Cleveland – Three Performances of Note

A Little problem with drops
If you saw the game you know who I’m going to talk about and why just from the heading. Greg Little (-3.1) may have picked up the first touchdown grab of his career, but he did little else right in a textbook example of how not to catch footballs. The rookie receiver dropped an incredible four passes as he was guilty of constantly taking his eyes off the ball as he prepared what to do next. To his credit, he doesn’t shy away from bouncing back, and his quarterback kept going after him (12 times in all), but you won’t find many performances this year from a WR where they drop such easy-to-catch balls. His drop with 27 seconds left in the game summed up his day and it’s a growing problem given that he’s now dropped 12 on the year – an astonishing
20.3% of all catchable balls throw his way.


A force in the middle

While everyone, myself included, was looking for Phil Taylor to become the stud in the middle of the Browns’ defensive line, it’s starting to look like the true MVP of the unit is Ahtyba Rubin (+6.2). This week marked the third consecutive game where Rubin graded in the green (+1.1 or above), with this by far his best performance of the season. What makes it all the more remarkable is that his grade comes on the back of something that has proven to be very much a secondary skill; his pass rushing. There’s no real surprise the former Iowa State Cyclone had his way with the poor Nate Livings, but it was the ease at which he got the better of Bobbie Williams that really stood out. The hit he picked up on Williams with 1:08 to go in the game was overshadowed by the catch and run of A.J. Green, but is the perfect example of what Rubin was doing all game.


Sophomore Slump

I was generally wowed by Joe Haden (-1.4) as a rookie. He was so good that even when he got beat he was able to come back and make a play on the ball. But over the last two weeks he’s started to have a few issues, and this game was no different. All-in-all he gave up 125 yards, having more than his fair share of issues trying to keep up with A.J. Green. On more than one occasion Haden got beaten off the line by Green and was unable to locate the ball such was the separation between the two. So, round two goes to the Bengals receiver, but the real winner in this matchup will always be the fans; we’re going to be fortunate enough to watch two of the best at their positions go up against each other twice every year (barring injuries).


Cincinnati – Three Performances of Note

Stepping up

After losing a touchdown last week to the ‘Calvin Johnson rule’, maybe Jermaine Gresham (+3.5) had a little bit of extra motivation. It certainly looked that way as the Browns not only had trouble covering him, but also besting him in the run game. Gresham, not always someone who excels with his in line blocking, had joy against Jabaal Sheard and Brian Schafering in one of his most complete performances to date even if he did give up a sack. His most notable impact may have been as a receiver, with his touchdown (Q3 1:29) being a great adjustment, but Bengals fans should be happy that this was the first time all year that he graded positively with his blocking and receiving.


Stepping down?

I’ve mentioned it briefly earlier, and have written about it at great length before, but Bengals left guard Nate Livings (-5.4) continues to have problems. He may have only walked away having given up a hit and a pressure, but add a couple of penalties to the mix and you’ve got a disastrous performance highlighted by his play on the final Bengals drive of the game. First he gives up a false start penalty, then he fails to engage his man as he pulls to the right (00:49), before finally allowing Scott Paxson to fly past him to tackle Cedric Benson for a 4-yard loss. Cincinnati went on to make the field goal, but it doesn’t take away from the poor play of the individual. Livings remains a liability.


Called it!

So often I make predictions that go horribly, horribly wrong. So allow me to pat myself on the back as I say I knew Geno Atkins (+0.9), was going to have a great year in 2011. A leading candidate (in the collective minds of the PFF staffers) for a Pro Bowl spot, this wasn’t Atkins at his best in the run game as his desire to get up field was used against him at times. But it’s his work as a pass rusher that warrants praise, with the sophomore stepping up in Carlos Dunlap‘s absence to make life very uncomfortable for Colt McCoy. He picked up a sack, two hits and another pressure, as well as a batted pass, as the Browns interior struggled to stop him penetrating. He’s turning into a player you need to gameplan for because he’s nigh on impossible to keep in check.


Game Notes
- Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton completed 4-of-6 passes thrown over 20 yards in the air.

- The Browns only missed three tackles the entire game, with two of those by Chris Gocong.

- Which team blitzed the most? The Bengals blitzed on 31.7% of all passing plays, while the Browns did so on 36.8% of plays.


PFF Game Ball
They try to tell me I need to give this to a player on the winning team, I respond with an emphatic “pah”. Ahtyba Rubin was the best player on the park on Sunday so he deserves this award.

Re-Focused: Browns @ Bengals, Week 12 | ProFootballFocus.com

[golfer704u]

Since I am sure there are some people on here who'll blame the drops at the end of the year on the way Colt throws. I'll make sure to quote this.

"To his credit, he doesn’t shy away from bouncing back, and his quarterback kept going after him (12 times in all), but you won’t find many performances this year from a WR where they drop such easy-to-catch balls. His drop with 27 seconds left in the game summed up his day and it’s a growing problem given that he’s now dropped 12 on the year – an astonishing
20.3% of all catchable balls throw his way."

And yeah the problem was that Colt wasn't "seeing the second level"

[OzDawg]

thanks bernie, I nowhave to go rewatch the game :P
loved the post

[Greythan]

Little dropped 6 balls too. I have no idea how they categorize "drops", but if it hits his hands he should catch it. I counted 6 so that's what I'm going with.

Yes, a few of the balls weren't in stride, but they hit his hands. Gotta catch 'em.

AJ Green, conversely, was targeted 4 times and caught all four balls. Lucky for us one of his "catches" was a step out of bounds in the end zone.

[Riffer X]

Heard Little interviewed today and he said mostly the right things. He doesn't seem to be too down about it, but I also don't think he realizes that he cost the team the game and is giving the Colt bashers more ammo to run with, cuz those types will blame Colt for the drops somehow.

He did say Colt has been good with trying to keep his confidence up. I don't think Colt has a choice given the guy is his main target most of the time.

[Sez.EJ]

Colt is stuck with Little and the rest for the season.. Little is not going anywhere.. and I believe he can improve... even Jerry Rice was tagged a dropper as a rookie.. So it can be overcome with hard work.. Let's hope he has it in him to work through it. The rest of the WR's.. no great loss replacing any of them. Cribbs will always be around to fill in at WR since he's a great returner.

[King of Kings]

Originally Posted by golfer704u

Since I am sure there are some people on here who'll blame the drops at the end of the year on the way Colt throws. I'll make sure to quote this.

"To his credit, he doesn’t shy away from bouncing back, and his quarterback kept going after him (12 times in all), but you won’t find many performances this year from a WR where they drop such easy-to-catch balls. His drop with 27 seconds left in the game summed up his day and it’s a growing problem given that he’s now dropped 12 on the year – an astonishing
20.3% of all catchable balls throw his way."

And yeah the problem was that Colt wasn't "seeing the second level"

Well see what it is is McCoy has the arm strength of Betty White you see, so he's winding up too much to get the ball beyond his usual 1 yard level and the ball is fluttering at a high velocity and uncatchable. It is on McCoy to catch those passes with Little's hands for Little. It is what it is guys.

Sobo wrote earlier after blowing Adam Shefter while Rachel Nichols gently massaged his manbrests with whipped cream that it's because McCoy sucks. Adkins is hearing that the Browns are in agreement and holding a Black Mass in CBS` basement to cause Matt Barkley to fall to the Browns. I know you don't want to hear that but it is true, we are being run by a Satanic Cult obsessed with Matt Barkley, even Florio over at PFT when he's not sending love letters to Obama has reported on it.

Everyone can see that McCoy is throwing fluffernutters too hard to catch due to his pop gun arm and being from Texas. I can see it and it's not passing the eyeball test but the good news is ESPN says if we draft Matt Barkley we will also draft a WR in the 1st, WR in the 2nd, RB in the 3rd, RT's in the 4th, LS in the 5th, a WSLB in the 6th and a DE in the 7th. We rule!

[nickers]

Originally Posted by King of Kings

Well see what it is is McCoy has the arm strength of Betty White you see, so he's winding up too much to get the ball beyond his usual 1 yard level and the ball is fluttering at a high velocity and uncatchable. It is on McCoy to catch those passes with Little's hands for Little. It is what it is guys.

Sobo wrote earlier after blowing Adam Shefter while Rachel Nichols gently massaged his manbrests with whipped cream that it's because McCoy sucks. Adkins is hearing that the Browns are in agreement and holding a Black Mass in CBS` basement to cause Matt Barkley to fall to the Browns. I know you don't want to hear that but it is true, we are being run by a Satanic Cult obsessed with Matt Barkley, even Florio over at PFT when he's not sending love letters to Obama has reported on it.

Everyone can see that McCoy is throwing fluffernutters too hard to catch due to his pop gun arm and being from Texas. I can see it and it's not passing the eyeball test but the good news is ESPN says if we draft Matt Barkley we will also draft a WR in the 1st, WR in the 2nd, RB in the 3rd, RT's in the 4th, LS in the 5th, a WSLB in the 6th and a DE in the 7th. We rule!

Your disgusting....Im not saying colt is the answer but for chrissake. Dont post like a child. You dont like him I understand that. but to bash him and say stupid things is well...stupid.

[King of Kings]

Originally Posted by nickers

Your disgusting....Im not saying colt is the answer but for chrissake. Dont post like a child. You dont like him I understand that. but to bash him and say stupid things is well...stupid.

(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)


It actually makes me pretty sad you find me disgusting nickers. Well not really, I could care less but I need something to type here aside from showing an excitement over your post. It truly was an exciting post HOWEVER.....

No matter how exciting that post was I am going to have to ask you to refrain from calling people disgusting and using terms like "stupid things." This is the WORLDWIDE Web you know? Anyone could fall apon our posts including children who happen to be surfing for pornographic images while their parents are at work. I would hate them to stumble into this thread and see Browns fans using salty language such as that quickly scaring them into the welcoming bosom of Stooler Nation. I'm not asking for me nickers, i'm asking for the kids. Do it for the children man.

[Legendary]

Off season Greg Little should play lot of baseball and basketball and football (goalkeeper) to sharpen his hand co-ordination to catch the ball better. I think he should try this.

[mario]

Gregg Little gets a pass in my book because he is a second year WR (in his entire life) that had virtually no off season to improve on his catching/route running, and we drafted him just for his size and athletic ability KNOWING he needed work (sounds like Carlton Mitchell and Paul Hubbard, right?).

I don't give Colt any passes when he plays terrible because he is a lifer at QB and was one of the most decorated QBs in College History. It just goes to show just because a QB is a college stud, it doesn't necessarily mean it will translate into the NFL when you are playing against elite defensive players on every snap. In college, you might only be playing 1 to 2 NFL level defensive players every week. In the NFL, you face at least 11 of them on the field.

With that being said, Colt didn't have a bad game Sunday in my opinion. It wasn't record setting or even great, but it was not bad. He made some really good throws (even if they were dropped) and had the offense moving well in a few series.

This team really needs some weapons on offense before Joe Thomas gets so old he will be playing LT from a wheel chair. We can't afford to wait 5-7 years for some production on that side of the ball. I mean we have been waiting since 1999 with 2007 being the exception.

[golfer704u]

Again this isn't about getting rid of or hating on Little. He is what he is. A project. My issue still is that it seems the Browns are attempting to force him to learn to be a better reciever to the detriment of the overall offense and the development of our young QB.

My issue I guess is with Shumur and the WR coach.